


Guiding Light

by jenna_thorn



Category: Firefly
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-13
Updated: 2010-09-13
Packaged: 2017-10-11 18:29:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/115574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenna_thorn/pseuds/jenna_thorn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>River and Mal, pre-movie</p>
            </blockquote>





	Guiding Light

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HopefulNebula](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HopefulNebula/gifts).



Mal clapped a hand to Wash's shoulder as they passed in the bulkhead, then leaned on the back of the pilot's chair. River sat in the other, wound around herself like a cat. "You aren't touching anything, right?" She shot him a scathing look, but tucked her hands under her knees. He figured that was about as good as he was going to get. He leaned forward to tap the fuel gauge, then sighed.

"We are in the stars."

Mal considered for a moment whether he was supposed to say something to that. It didn't seem to be a question, but she was watching him, expectant. "Not quite in. Doubt any hull would take that."

"Among. Amidst. Between. About."

"Yes, okay, and...?"

She faced forward again and Mal blinked. Waited. Waited a bit more. Thought about locking down the board to keep her out of it and going back for a cup of tea. He picked up the Rex and considered it.

"From planetside, the stars make pictures. Simon used to tell me about them; we'd sit on the lawn and he'd trace out the shapes that others saw, humans, animals, mythological creatures. Some of the names come from those. Other names are from numbers. A number can be a shape, but not a star shape. Constellation."

Mal was pretty sure she wasn't asking him anything, so he walked the dinosaur along the edge of the console, waddling him back and forth.

"Are we in someone else's constellation, Captain Reynolds?" she asked, and he felt a spark of alarm. "Is someone watching us?"

"Watching for us, yes. Watching us, I'm hoping not." He put the dinosaur back. "We fly deep for a reason." Spooky or no, she was right more often than she was wrong, and he ran a long range sensor sweep, just to check.

"No one looks to us, then? We aren't a guiding star."

He pushed thoughts of the badges ripped off his coat out of his mind. "No one looks to us, River, not for navigation, nor anything else. We aren't in any sky long enough."

"Oh," she said, and settled back in the hollow of the chair again. "That's probably for the best then. I don't want to be a number. Or a shape."

Mal nodded, numb.

**Author's Note:**

> written for fandom_stocking 2010


End file.
